Skookum Horizontal Hive Features

For ease of use, Skookum's Horizontal hives have ventilated, hinged lids.

Horizontal hives use traditional deep frames, which require "bee space" on all sides, including on top. To contain the bees in the colony space, our hives feature ceiling boards that go above the frames, so the bees remain down in their space even when the hive lid is open. 

Like with our Skookum Top Bar hives, Skookum's Horizontal hives include a top-mounted feeder and water assembly for supplemental feeding and water availability, all safely contained under the hive lid.

Excess space when starting a new colony is a recipe for disaster, as is too little space when the colony is expanding. To solve this, our hives come with a follower board that allows you to adjust the colony living space appropriately.

As with our popular Skookum Top Bar hives, our Horizontal hives come with adjustable feet so you can properly level you hive on the hive stand.

All Skookum hives come with an integrated Small Hive Beetle (SHB) trap that you access from outside of the hive without bothering your bees at all. This setup allows you to keep your hive healthy at all times.

Note: SHB Trap not included if the IPM system is purchased, as the IPM board covers the trap location.

Because everyone prefers their own types of frames, be it plastic, wood, etc., our Skookum Horizontal Hive does not come with frames. You can either purchase your frames from MountainSweetHoney.com or you can upgrade your Skookum Horizontal Hive order to include 20 wooden frames already assembled and installed (without foundation...which you can also add as an upgrade...see below).

Upgrade your hive with a dimensionally matched hive stand! No need to figure out on what and where the put your new  hive. The hive stands are made of treated lumber for durability. You can even upgrade your hive stand with a custom paint job (distressed white over charred wood pictured)!

Since your Skookum Horizontal Hive does not come with frames without upgrading your order, it follows that it also doesn't come with the foundation. Again, you can choose to purchase your foundation from MountainSweetHoney.com and install it in either frames that you purchase and assemble or frames that you have us assemble and install, or you can upgrade your frame order to include beeswax coated plastic foundation already installed. This will ensure that your hive is ready to go as soon as you get it to your bee yard. Skookum recommends allowing bees to build their own comb off of just a starter strip, but we understand if customers want full foundation, instead.

All Skookum hives come with the Small Hive Beetle (SHB) trap, but the Varroa Mite is far worse than any beetle. You can upgrade your Skookum Horizontal Hive to include an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) system, which consists of a screened false floor above a removeable tray that holds Varroa Mite counting sticky boards. While this system is NOT a replacement for a standard alcohol wash or powdered sugar test on your bees to get an official Varroa Mite count, being able to frequently check the sticky boards for fallen Varroa Mites can help provide an early warning that it is time to do a real mite count in your hive.

Some keepers prefer having a queen excluder screen in their hives to ensure that the queen doesn't lay brood in honey cells. While this tends to be unlikely in traditional Langstroth hives because the colony structure dictates that brood be laid toward the bottom, Horizontal Hives are ALL bottom, technically. Most likely, the queen will keep brood close to the hive entrance, but a queen excluder board will ensure that she stays right where you want her to be.